As the cruise sector experiences a very different wave season this year, Harry Kemble asks Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Cruise Line to assess their prospects for 2021 and beyond
I
t’s fair to say that the 2021 wave season is anything but normal compared with previous years. An array of offers have been
pushed by cruise lines across the market, but until the UK and US governments deem cruising to be safe again, it is difficult to generate the same levels of excitement that the trade is accustomed to at this time of the year. During the pause in operations,
cruise giants Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Cruise Line have taken the opportunity to support cruise retailers by either overhauling trade-facing platforms or launching new ones. In recent months, NCL has
unveiled Norwegian Central, a trade portal with updated training platform NCL University; fly-cruise booking platform NCL Air; and incentive
We’re active and
we’re in the market but we’re not seeing this as wave season other than it’s January
scheme NCL Freestyle Rewards. Royal has introduced a
Homeworkers’ Hub to help, in particular, the “influx” of experienced agents who have chosen to start their own businesses in recent months. The line has also sought to ease
the job of its key account managers by developing an app for them. Made available last week, the app allows key account managers to quickly find data – such as performance charts and future cruise credit reports – during agent meetings, which have generally been taking place online during the pandemic.
Ben Bouldin 10 21 JANUARY 2021
Wave season Referring to business during this wave season, Ben Bouldin, Royal’s vice-president for the EMEA region, says: “We’re active and we’re in the market but we’re not seeing this as wave other than it’s January and that’s usually when wave happens. The spike will come later this year.” Eamonn Ferrin, Norwegian
Cruise Line’s vice-president and managing director for the UK and Ireland, is keen to reflect on how his team has grasped opportunities presented by the pandemic. “Wave is clearly not a normal
wave but we’ve been exceptionally busy,” he says. “We’ve improved our IT structures and got Norwegian Central, NCL Air and NCL Freestyle Rewards set up. We wanted to do those things before and, as it happens, we’ve achieved all three.”
Vaccine rollout Both Bouldin and Ferrin – as with the rest of the sector – have one eye firmly on the ongoing vaccine rollout. In September, the Healthy Sail
Panel, created by the lines’ parent companies in response to the pandemic, published a 66-page report listing 74 detailed Covid protocols. Now, experts have been tasked with understanding how the vaccine will affect the industry’s push to resume operations. Ferrin says NCL’s goal is to
make cruise “stronger than ever”. He believes safe sailings, coupled with the vaccination rollout, are inspiring customers to book. “Our customers believe that,
because otherwise they would not be booking the levels that they are
travelweekly.co.uk
Lines look to catch
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